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‘Board’ with benching? Try these variations

Not getting maximum results out of your usual bench-press routine? Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Roy has a couple of exercises that are sure to add some fire to your workout.

Roy, a base facility manager with the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Civil Engineering Squadron in Portland, knows a lot about heavy metal. He set state records in the International Powerlifting Association’s Oregon State Championships in November 2005 after only a year in a serious weightlifting program.

Ready for some impressive numbers? He squatted 540.1 pounds, bench-pressed 424.3 pounds and dead-lifted 507 pounds, setting records for all three events in the 275-pound weight class of the Masters 45-49 category.

When asked what two exercises he’d recommend to someone hoping to add upper-body strength, he suggested two bench-press variations — board presses and floor presses. Both force you to focus on specific ranges of the bench-press motion, which helps build overall power.

• Board presses. If you haven’t seen it before, this one’s a little unusual. You start in the typical bench-press position, but you place a stack of boards on your chest. You’ll need at least two spotters — three or four is better if you’re pushing a lot of weight, Roy said. Otherwise, the exercise is the same — you lower the bar to the board and then press it back up until your arms lock out.

How many boards do you use? That depends on the point at which you lose power during the bench press. If you base the height of the boards on that stall point, you can focus on building strength to help you through it. The type of board doesn’t matter, but Roy uses 2-inch by 6-inch boards that he has screwed and glued together in various height configurations.

• Floor presses. For this exercise, you can use either dumbbells or a barbell. Lying on your back on the floor and starting with your arms fully extended, lower the bar or dumbbells until your elbows and triceps touch the ground, then press the weight back up until you lock out.

With the barbell, you can use a squat rack to rest the bar, setting the rack hooks within comfortable arm’s reach (with the pins slightly lower than forearm length to catch the bar if you miss the hooks).

When using dumbbells, set them on a bench and lie with your head underneath the bench. The starting position is with your elbows and triceps on the floor — make sure you have a couple of spotters on hand to help get the weights into position. From the starting position, press the weight up until your arms lock out.

“Both of these are great for the push-up because it gets your elbows in that 90-degree position and then you have to generate the body speed to get to lock out,” Roy explained. In “both exercises, you are utilizing an overload system, but you have to create power from a stationary position.”

• Extra credit. Want to really feel the burn? Try Roy’s sure-fire method for “added fun” — attach two 80-pound chains to the barbell. “That really gives you a tremendous pump,” he said. “And it adds to your volume.”